I Knew You Were Waiting
by flashpenguin
Summary: It's time for the rivals to bury the hatchet. With the help of Rossi, Strauss and Morgan find themselves at a beach house together. As they sort out there feelings and come clean, will they finally admit their feeling? May be multi-chaptered.
1. Chapter 1

_**A friend on FB really wanted to read some Strauss/Morgan. And even though they are out of my comfort zone, I figured that I could take that risk. I mean, I wrote the first Strauss/Rossi and I did tackle Strauss/Hotch, so why not another team member? Well, her prompts were: beach house, hot tub, and roses. Plus it had to be ROMANTIC. The moment she said that, the song played in my head as a quick film. Hope you enjoy.**_

_**Song prompt: "I Knew You Were Waiting" by George Michael and Aretha Franklin**_

_**For Jill. **_

**I Knew You Were Waiting**

Erin Strauss inserted the key into the lock and gave it a slight turn. With a heavy sigh, she opened the door and stepped inside. A strange fragrance tickled her nose, but she was too tired to care what it might be. She was tired and right now all she wanted to do was take a long, hot bath and relax.

Closing the door, she hiked the strap of her shoulder bag higher. She still had no idea how she had let David Rossi talk her into going to a beach house in May, but here she was, and she was going to make the most of it. Maybe he was right and she did need a vacation. Rehab had been anything but a piece of cake and going back to the stress of the FBI was beginning to be a little much.

Switching on the lamp near the entryway, she gasped as she took in the elegance of the room. She knew that Rossi had expensive tastes, but she never could imagine that he knew interior decorating. Her eyes glanced around the room at the paintings and furniture. It didn't escape that there were dozens of roses on the tables.

"What in the world?" she muttered. She tried to recall anything that he might have said about having visitors. Had she gotten the dates wrong?

Stepping over to the huge bouquet or white roses, she noticed the card. Puling it out of the envelope, she opened it.

"_Erin, take this time to relax and have some fun. Champagne in the fridge, hot tub on the deck. Just make sure you and your friend clean up. Dave"_

Erin frowned. Friend? She didn't have any friends. At least none that wanted to associate with her anymore. She was a pariah.

Her self deprecation was put on hold as her ears picked up the faint sound of gravel crunching in the outside drive way.

"Who could that be?" she wondered and hurried over to pull open the drapes.

Derek Morgan pulled the car into the gravel driveway and threw the engine in park. He still didn't know how David Rossi had talked him into taking the weekend beach house for the weekend, but now here he was and it was too late to back out.

Running a hand over his tired eyes, he turned off the engine and sat in the quiet. In the distance the waves made a faint crashing sound, but overall, it was quiet. Eerily quiet. Maybe he had seen too many horror movies, but a shiver went thru him as he mentally argued that there were no UNSUBs at the beach.

"Oh yeah," he said to himself. "Remember that one case…or that other case…or the one in Pismo Beach…?" He shook his head. "Okay, Derek. Stop. You promised to come out and relax. Worrying about Freddy Kreuger behind the door isn't going to help."

Pulling his go bag from the front seat, he opened the door and stepped out. He debated for a moment to lock the doors, but decided against it. Really, what could happen on an isolated beach in the middle of nowhere?

Walking around the car, he stopped short. Another car? Why hadn't he noticed it as he pulled up? And he even knew the plate. What was Erin Strauss doing at Rossi's place? Maybe he should just go. He could turn around and walk back to the car without every saying a word. He could go back home and take care of Clooney and relax by working out at the gym. Anything but seeing the Director.

_Chicken!_ he taunted.

He rubbed his eyes again. He could leave and no one be the wiser. But he would know. And he wasn't one to make promises and then break them. But it wasn't like Rossi to forget to tell him that someone was going to be at the beach house on the same weekend. Maybe Rossi had forgotten. After all, the agent was getting up in years and he had been distracted with Prentiss's departure. Or maybe _he_ had heard wrong. When spoken quickly, certain numbers sounded the same.

"Just go up and be polite," he ordered himself. "Take a shower and get something to eat. In the morning, you can leave. You don't even have to see her."

With leaden feet, he took each step as though he was heading toward a sentence. Reaching the porch, he raised his fist and knocked. He wondered if she was still asleep, when the door was suddenly thrown open.

"Well, hello, Agent Morgan," Erin greeted in monotone. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"I could say the same, Director," Derek returned in the same tone. "Either I got the dates wrong, or Agent Rossi set us up."

Erin thinned her lips in thought as she considered his words. "More than likely it's the latter, if he had any say in it." Derek nodded in agreement. "Which leaves the question that deserves an answer."

"That is…" Derek wondered.

Erin crossed her arms over her breasts. "Which one of us gets to shoot him first?"


	2. Chapter 2

**I Knew You Were Waiting**

"So, what do we do?" Derek asked.

"Since Monday is two days away, it appears Agent Rossi gets a reprieve," Erin replied bitterly.

"I meant with the two of us here?" he pointed out the obvious.

"Since neither one of us knew the other was going to be here, it might be best if one of us left." Erin hadn't really wanted to spend the weekend at the beach, and now that Rossi had set her up, she felt relieved to be the one to go back home.

"Would that be me?" Morgan raised his eyebrow in question.

She shook her head. "No. I'm leaving." She turned toward the main room and headed for her overnight bag and keys.

"You were here first." He followed her inside the large airy room.

"But you're his friend," she returned. Mentally she checked to make sure she had everything. "There is champagne in the fridge and a hot tub on the porch. Just make sure you cover it when you're done."

"You're giving up that easily? I thought there was more fight in you," he mocked.

Erin sighed and dropped her shoulders. "I like a good fight, but I don't like fights where I know I won't win. This is one of them." She walked past him to the front door. Derek's hand shot out to stop her.

"Don't go because of me."

She shook her head sadly. "I can't stay. Not with you."

"Why?" he asked gently.

"It's not right. Not after all that's happened between us. I have paperwork to do, so I should get home."

"I didn't take you for a coward, Strauss." Derek leveled a gaze at her and challenged her to contradict him.

Erin sighed. "There is a lot you don't know about me." She paused for dramatic effect. "Oh wait! You know everything."

Derek knew when to concede. "Look, it's getting late. It's a long drive back to Georgetown, and by the time you get there, you might be too tired to finish." He looked around the layout of the house. "I'm sure that Rossi has more than one room in this thing he called a 'shack'."

"And if he doesn't?" Erin wondered and bit her lip.

"Then I will do the gentlemanly thing by sleeping on the couch." He stepped forward and took the bag from her shoulder. "It's dark outside. Go freshen up and I'll make something to eat."

She considered arguing and leaving. But there was something in his eyes that asked her to trust him.

"Agent Morgan…"

"I think you can call me Derek; we're not on the clock. Now go, Erin," he ordered.

Turning smartly on her heel, Erin took the overnight bag from Derek's hands and headed back toward where she hoped the bedrooms were.  
******

Erin leaned against the wooden railing of the large spacious deck and tried to relax. The cool wind of the ocean breeze on her skin caused tiny goose pimples to appear. Unconsciously she rubbed them to warm her arms.

"Nice moon," Derek complimented as he came out on the deck and closed the sliding glass door behind him.

"Very nice," Erin replied politely, but she didn't turn to look at him. When he stepped up beside her, she moved away.

"You were quiet at dinner," he remarked.

"Tired." She left it at there. Why explain?

"I understand. It was quite a long drive out to this place." He looked out over the horizon and watched the waves crash. "So, what's really bothering you, Erin?"

"Nothing."

"Obviously something is bothering you if Rossi thought that the both of us needed to have time together," he said. When she didn't reply, he turned to look at the woman who was his boss. "Do you hate me?"

Taken aback by the question, Erin blinked. "Hate you?"

"With all that happened last fall." He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "What I did…it wasn't because I hate you, Erin, I did it because I care." She remained quiet, so he continued. "Alcoholism is nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, look at the people we catch on a weekly basis - now those are traits to be ashamed to even acknowledge."

She shook her head sadly. "You don't understand."

"Try me," he challenged. "I might surprise you by being more than just a pretty face to fill in for Hotch's position."

"I hate weakness. I hate it in people who work for me. I demand perfection and dedication to the job and life. And…and this…in me…" She tried to find the words to say what was on her mind and had been eating at her gut.

"You think you're weak?" Derek asked. He raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"I have to be. I turned to the bottle to run away," she retorted angrily. "I dove head first into a bottle Jim Beam and I nearly put a case on the line. My actions that day…I could have gotten someone killed. Or let the bad guy get away."

"It didn't happen that way. We caught him. You did one of the best interrogations on that piece of slime…"

"But I almost screwed it up because I was drunk!"

"You didn't. You got help. You're better."

"I got help because you and Agent Hotchner practically handcuffed me and took me to a rehab facility," she bit out.

"You needed a little shove." He moved in closer. "We care about you."

"Sure you do," but the words were expelled on a shaky breath.

"If I didn't care, I would have gone straight up the chain. Hell, I notified Hotch, and I was ready to jump over his head. If I didn't care, you would have been out on your pretty little ass," he returned and dared her to contradict him.

Erin paused for a long moment. "I failed," she admitted.

"You didn't 'fail'. Everyone has a weakness…a breaking point. Hotch had his. Gideon had his. My dad's partner had his…everyone deals with it differently. I nearly had mine."

She tried to meet his eyes, but couldn't. "What stopped you?"

"Rossi. He told me that the second I started drowning my problems in alcohol, I was never going to come out of it. He saved me." Derek crooked a finger under Erin's chin. "And I saved you."

Erin tried to find the words to speak, but they wouldn't come.

Derek wasn't sure what propelled him to kiss her. Maybe it was the moonlight. Or maybe it was that lost look in her blue eyes. Either way, he couldn't help himself as he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

Slowly he tasted her sweetness as he dipped his tongue in, to briefly tangle with hers. Before she could respond, he moved back.

"I think it's time to turn in," he suggested. "It's a good thing Rossi has more than one bedroom in this place."

Flushed with embarrassment, Erin could only nod.

Derek cupped her cheek. "Good night, Erin," he said and turned to leave her alone on the deck.

In the distance, the bedroom door closed. Erin sighed and leaned back against the railing to watch the waves crash onto the beach.

It was a long time before she went to bed. Alone.


End file.
